Russell William Thaw

Russell William Thaw (25 October 1910 - 6 May 1984) was a racing pilot who fought in World War II.

Biography

Thaw was the son of Evelyn Nesbit and, legally, he was also the son of her husband Harry Kendall Thaw. The Thaw-Nesbit couple became notorious after Thaw murdered Stanford White, Nesbit's former lover, at Madison Square Garden in 1906.

Born in Berlin, Germany, Russell William Thaw was treated indifferently by the man supposed to be his father, as Harry K. Thaw never accepted Russell William as his son—quite reasonably, as Russell was born four years after his putative father had been incarcerated in the Matteawan State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. Thaw's mother, who initially testified that Russell was Harry's son, eventually admitted he was not, but refused to name his actual biological father. As a child, Russell Thaw co-starred with his mother in at least five films: Threads of Destiny (1918), Redemption (1917), Her Mistake (1918), The Woman Who Gave (1918), I Want to Forget (1918), and The Hidden Woman (1922).

Thaw participated in two of the cross-country Bendix trophy races, which were instituted in 1931 and held annually to promote and encourage the achievements of U.S. aviation. Flying the Gee Bee "Model R-2" - P&W Wasp, he withdrew from the 1933 race. Flying the Northrop Gamma - Wright Cyclone, he came in third in the 1935 race from Los Angeles to Cleveland, ahead of Amelia Earhart in 5th place.

On December 10, 1935 he crashed in Atlanta, Georgia while on his way to rescue Lincoln Ellsworth after leaving from Caldwell, New Jersey. [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Thaw Crashes at Atlanta |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60916FE3C58107A93C2A81789D95F418385F9 |quote=The Lincoln Ellsworth rescue plane which left Caldwell, N.J., Saturday on the first lap of a projected 9,500-mile flight to Magallanes, Chile, crashed near Atlanta Airport early today in an attempted take-off. The pilot, Russell W. Thaw, and a mechanic, William Henry Klenke Jr., escaped injury.|work=New York Times |date=December 10, 1935 |accessdate=2008-07-23 ]

Around this time, he also was the private pilot to the Guggenheim family.

On 17 July, 1936, he married Katherine Emily Roberts, a Beverly Hills debutante and a graduate of Radcliffe College. [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Married |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,847779,00.html |quote=Russell William Thaw, 25, son of Evelyn Nesbit & Harry Kendall Thaw; and Katherine Emily Roberts, 22; in Los Angeles. |work=Time (magazine) |date=27 July, 1936 |accessdate=2008-07-23 ]

After their wedding, they moved to White Plains, New York. They separated on 15 March, 1939. Katherine Thaw sued her husband for cruelty and "refusal to live with her". [cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Wife Sues Son of Thaw. |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA061FFA355D10728DDDAA0994DA415B898FF1D3 |quote=Katherine Thaw sued today for separate maintenance from Russell William Thaw, son of Harry K. Thaw, and for permanent alimony of $400 a month. ... |work=New York Times |date=December 13, 1939 |accessdate=2008-07-23 ] Their divorce was finalized on 8 July, 1941, with Katherine Thaw stating that her husband had separated from her because he said he could not support them both.

During World War II, Russell William Thaw became one of the most noted American pilots, obtaining five air victories, three of them as part of the 103rd Squadron. In his later years, he served as the postmaster of a small town in Connecticut.

Death

He died in Santa Barbara, California.

References